The government on Saturday made its permit necessary for the import of silver by shifting the metal from the “free” category to the “restricted” category after imports rose by 157.16% year-on-year in April.
The move followed its decision on Wednesday to raise import duties on precious metals such as gold and silver from 6% to 15% to limit imports and free up foreign exchange for essentials such as energy and fertilisers.
“The import policy for items covered by ITC Harmonized System Code Nos. 71069221 and 71069229 has been revised from ‘free’ to ‘restricted’… with immediate effect,” said a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), an arm of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The two HS codes include silver bullion, silver bullion containing 99.9% or more silver by weight, and other types of silver alloy. Harmonized System (HS) codes are a classification system for traded products.
As per the notification, unrestricted silver imports will stop from Saturday and the importer will now need government clearance or license before any internal shipment of the precious metal.
The order came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to conserve foreign exchange by avoiding non-essential foreign travel and refraining from buying gold for a year amid mounting pressures on India’s foreign exchange reserves due to the war in West Asia.
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India has foreign exchange reserves of more than $690 billion, which is enough to cover imports for 10 months. However, the government is adopting a cautious approach given the possibility of prolonging the war. Imports of precious metals, especially gold and silver, were a major drag on reserves.
India’s gold imports in fiscal year 2026 jumped by 24.08% to $71.98 billion, while silver imports rose by 149.48% to $12.05 billion.
Trade data released by the government on Friday showed that silver imports rose to $411.06 million in April alone, compared to $159.85 million in April 2025. In rupee terms, silver imports in April 2026 rose 181.17% to $3,845.51 Crores, compared to $1,367.67 crore in the same month of the last financial year.
Data on the quantities of imports of goods for the month of April has not yet been released. Available data indicates huge imports of silver – in terms of quantity and value – in March 2026 compared to March 2025. Silver shipments to India rose by 91% to 247,008 kg in March 2026 compared to 128,987 kg in March 2025.
In value terms, silver imports rose by 416.73% in March 2026 to $616.44 million (or $5,718.11 crore) compared to $119.30 million (or $1,033.55 crore) in the same month of the previous financial year. In rupee terms, the annual increase in silver imports in March 2026 was 453.25%.
